Early in 1900

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Our 2nd Church Building
The year was 1904.  Teddy Roosevelt was president. It was the age of silent films, and aviation was just becoming part of our lexicon.  Idaho was almost 15 years old as a state. Sandpoint was only 3 years old as a city, having been incorporated in 1901.  Idaho became the nation's 43rd state in 1890, population 88,000.
 
In 1900 Scandinavians constituted approximately one-fourth of the total foreign-born in Idaho. Norwegian Lutherans started Spokane College,  located on 29th Avenue in Spokane, and it was from that teaching staff  that we received most of our itinerant pastors who visited us during our planning and building stages.
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Both of these paintings are by Dar Cogswell, depicting our 2nd church edifice (LEFT), and our present church.
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Our First Permanent Pastor

Where It Began

PictureLouise Haughness, one of our first Sunday School teachers, an aunt of Dagmar Kirking.
​Four women met first to organize a Sunday School and a Ladies Aide Society in 1904, long before we had a building in which to worship.  These women felt that religious education was highly valued and needed, and getting qualified teachers was their first chore. 

One of those teachers hired in 1904  was the aunt of our very own Dagmar Kirking. Her name was Louise Haughness. Her sister’s name was Tillie Thomason, and they worked together building up the Sunday School and choir.  This eventually led to planning, organizing, and building First Lutheran Church in Sandpoint.

These women and two others  invited Reverend Olaf Glasoe to meet them at the home of Anna Johnson and discuss how to get a church organized. Glasoe was Superintendent of Missions for the United Norwegian Lutheran Church in America. He travelled from Spokane to be with the ladies at this first meeting.  He gave a short devotional talk and helped them with planning. The first step, he said, was to form a Ladies Aide Society. 
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Mrs. Thomas Thomason, sister to Louise, also taught Sunday School and directed choir in those early years.

On October 6, 1905, a meeting was held at Peter Anderson’s home, with Reverend Olaf Glasoe present again, and a hand-written constitution was drawn up.  Reverend Glasoe taught at Spokane College, and traveled to  Sandpoint once or more each month to conduct services and teach Sunday School in various homes and buildings in the community.  When he couldn’t come, Reverend Thormosgaard and Reverend Thompson came. ​​German-speaking ministers often came and preached in the afternoon on Sundays.
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Reverend Olaf Glasoe when he was on the faculty at St. Olaf’s College.
Reverend Glasoe started many mission churches in Washington and Idaho in the early part of the 1900’s.
In the 20’s and 30’s and 40’s, on All Saints Day you would have heard these names called out as the church bell pealed once for each: Anderson, Thomason, Halverson, Field, Larson, Solberg, Sund, Haughness, Iverson, Johnson, Olson. . Many of their descendants still live in this area, and some are still members of this church.
PictureFirst resident pastor, Rev A.M. Skindlov
Meetings and sermons were in Norwegian, and we have scanned one of those early pages, written in Norwegian, as our background picture at the top of this page.

​Church services and Sunday School classes were often held in the Humbird Mill Schoolhouse, or in a member’s home until the building was completed at 5th and Alder.    Mr. Kolstad agreed to build the church for $325.  By the time it was finished, it cost about $1000. 
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In September of 1909, we got our first resident pastor, Reverend Skindlov. 14 families supported the church that year.
 
In October 1909 the parsonage was started.  It was ready for the Pastor’s family to move in on Dec 21st of 1909. It cost $800 at the start, but was $902.90 by the time it was complete.   Andrew Roe built the parsonage.
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Confirmation Class, 1910, with Reverend Skindlov in center
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This is one of only a few known pictures of the first building.